Ayurveda is a Sanskrit word, derived from two roots: ayur, which means life, and veda, knowledge. Knowledge arranged systematically with logic becomes science. During the due course of time, Ayurveda became the science of life. It has its root in ancient vedic literature and encompasses our entire life, the body, mind and spirit.

Purusha/Prakruti
According to Ayurveda, every human being is a
creation of the cosmos, the pure cosmic consciousness,
as two energies: male energy, called Purusha and
female energy, Prakruti. Purusha is choiceless passive
awareness, while Prakruti is choiceful active
consciousness. Prakruti is the divine creative will.
Purusha doesn't take part in creation, but Prakruti
does the divine dance of creation called leela. In
creation, Prakruti is first evolved or manifested as
supreme intelligence, called mahat. Mahat is the
buddhi principal (individual intellect) which further
manifests as self identity, called ahamkara, which is
ego. Ahamkara is influenced by three basic universal
qualities: satva, rajas and tamas.
Satva is responsible
for clarity of perception. Rajas causes movement,
sensations, feelings and emotions. Tamas is the
tendency towards inertia, darkness, heaviness, and is
responsible for periods of confusion and deep sleep.

Manifestation of Creation
From the essence of satva the five senses are
created: the ears to hear, skin to perceive touch, eyes
to see, the tongue to taste, and the nose, to smell. The
essence of rajas is manifested as the five motor
organs: speech, hands, feet, genitals and the organs of
excretion. The mind is derived from satva, while rajas
is manifested as prana, the life force. The tamasic
quality is also responsible for the creation of tan
matra, the subtle elements, and from whom the five
basic elements are manifested. They are space, air,
fire, water and earth. It is from pure consciousness that
space is manifested.

Space
Expansion of consciousness is space and space is
all enclosive. We need space to live, and our bodily
cells contain spaces. The synaptic, cellular and visceral
spaces give freedom to the tissues to perform their
normal physiological functions. (A change in tissue
space, however, may lead to pathological conditions.)
The space in between two conjunctive nerve cells aids
communication, while the space in the mind
encompasses love and compassion.

Air
The movement of consciousness determines the
direction along which change of position in space
takes place. This course of action causes subtle
activities and movements within space. According to
the Ayurvedic perspective, this is the air principle.
There is a cosmic magnetic field responsible for the
movement of the earth, wind and water. Its
representative in the body is the biological air,
responsible for movement of afferent and efferent,
sensory and motor-neuron impulses. When someone
touches the skin, that tactile skin sensation is carried to
the brain by the principal of movement, which is the
sensory impulse. Then there is a reaction to the
impulse, which is the motor response, which is carried
from the brain to the periphery. This is a very
important function of air. Our breathing is due to the
movement of the diaphragm. Movements of the
intestines and subtle cell movements are also governed
by the biological principal of air. The movement of
thought, desire and will are also governed by the air
principal.

Fire
Where there is movement, there is friction, which
creates heat, so the third manifestation of
consciousness is fire, the principal of heat. There are
many different representations of fire in the body. The
solar plexus is the seat of fire, and this fire principle
regulates body temperature. Fire is also responsible for
digestion, absorption and assimilation. It is present in
the eyes, therefore we perceive light, and the luster in
the eyes is a result of the fire principal. There is a fire
in the brain as the grey matter, which governs
understanding, comprehension and appreciation. Fire
is necessary for transformation, comprehension,
appreciation, recognition and total understanding. In
our small universe, the sun is a burning ball of
consciousness and the sun gives us light and heat. In
the body, the representative of the sun is the biological
fire: the solar plexus which gives us heat, digestion,
and liver function.

Water
Because of the heat of the fire, consciousness
melts into water. According to chemistry, water is
H2O, but according to Ayurveda water is liquefaction
of consciousness. Water exists in the body in many
different forms, such as: plasma, cytoplasm, serum,
saliva, nasal secretion, orbital secretion and
cerebrospinal fluid. Excess water, which we eliminate
in the form of urine and sweat is water. Water is
necessary for nutrition and to maintain the
water/electrolyte balance in the body. Without water,
the cells cannot live.

Earth
The next manifestation of consciousness is the
earth element. Because of the heat of the fire and
water, there is crystallization. According to Ayurveda,
earth molecules are nothing but crystallization of
consciousness. In the human body, all solid structures,
hard, firm and compact tissues are derived from the
earth element (e.g. bones, cartilage, nails, hair, teeth
and skin). Even in a single cell, the cell membrane is
earth, cellular vacuoles are space, cytoplasm is water,
nucleic acid and all chemical components of the cell
are fire, and movement of the cell is air. All of these
five elements are present in every human cell.
According to Ayurveda, man is a creation of universal
consciousness. What is present in the cosmos, the
macrocosm, the same thing is present in the body, the
microcosm. Man is a miniature of nature.

Mental Constitution
Vedic philosophy classifies human temperaments
into three basic qualities: satvic, rajasic
and tamasic.
These individual differences in psychological and
moral dispositions and their reactions to socio-cultural
and physical environments are described in all the
classic texts of Ayurveda. Satvic qualities imply
essence, reality, consciousness, purity and clarity of
perception which are responsible for goodness and
happiness. All movements and activities are due to
rajas. It leads to the life of sensual enjoyment,
pleasure and pain, effort and restlessness. Tamas is
darkness, inertia, heaviness and materialistic attitudes.
There is a constant interplay of these three gunas
(qualities) in the individual consciousness, but the
relative predominance of either satva, rajas, or tamas
is responsible for individual psychological
constitution.

Satvic Mental Constitutions
The people in whom satvic qualities predominate
are religious, loving, compassionate and pure minded.
Following truth and righteousness, they have good
manners, behavior and conduct. They do not get easily
upset or angry. Although they work hard mentally,
they do not get mental fatigue, so they need only
several hours of sleep each night. They look fresh,
alert, aware, full of luster, wisdom, joy and happiness.
They are creative, humble and respectful of their
teachers. Worshipping God and humanity, they love
all. They care for people, animals, trees, and are
respectful of all life and existence. They have balanced
intuition and intelligence.

Rajasic Mental Constitutions
The people in whom rajasic qualities
predominate are egoistic, ambitious, aggressive, proud,
competitive, and have a tendency to control others.
They like power, prestige, position, and are
perfectionists. They are hard working people, but are
lacking in proper planning and direction. They are
ungrounded, active and restless. Emotionally, they are
angry, jealous, ambitious, and have few moments of
joy due to success. They have a fear of failure, are
subject to stress, and soon lose their mental energy.
They require about eight hours of sleep. They are
loving, calm and patient only as long as their self
interests are served. They are good, loving, friendly
and faithful only to those who are helpful to them.
They are not honest to their inner consciousness. Their
activities are self- centered and egotistical.

Tamasic Mental Constitutions
The people in whom tamasic qualities
predominate are less intelligent. They tend towards
depression, laziness, and excess sleep, even during the
day. A little mental work tires them easily. They like
jobs of less responsibility, and they love to eat, drink,
sleep and have sex. They are greedy, possessive,
attached, irritable, and do not care for others. They
may harm others through their own self interest. It is
difficult for them to focus their minds during
meditation.

Vata, Pitta and Kapha: the Three Doshas
The structural aspect of the body is made up of
five elements, but the functional aspect of the body is
governed by three biological humors. Ether and air
together constitute vata; fire and water, pitta; and
water and earth, kapha. Vata, pitta and
kapha are the
three biological humors that are the three biological
components of the organism. They govern
psycho-biological changes in the body and
physio-pathological changes too.
Vata-pitta-kapha are present
in every cell, tissue and organ. In every person they
differ in permutations and combinations.

The sperm is the male seed, and the ovum is the
female egg. They also contain vata-pitta-kapha
(VPK). Bodily vata-pitta-kapha changes according to
diet, life style and emotions. The sperm gets
influenced by the father's lifestyle, diet and emotions,
and the ovum by the mother's. At the time of
fertilization, when a single sperm enters a single
ovum, individual constitution is determined.

According to Ayurveda, there are seven body
types: mono-types (vata, pitta or kapha predominant),
dual types (vata-pitta, pitta-kapha or, kapha-vata), and
equal types, (vata, pitta and kapha in equal
proportions). Every individual has a unique
combination of these three doshas. To understand
individuality is the foundation of healing according to
Ayurveda, "The Science of Life".

Vata QualitiesVata, pitta and kapha are distinctly present in
every individual and express in each human being
differently according to the predominance of the
different qualities (gunas). For example vata is dry,
light, cold, mobile, active, clear, astringent, and it is
dispersing. All of these qualities can manifest in an
individual. For example, if a person has excess vata in
his or her constitution, because of the dry quality, he
or she will have dry hair, dry skin, dry colon and a
tendency towards constipation. Because of the light
quality, which is opposite of heavy, the vata person
will have a light body frame, light muscles, and light
fat, and so will be thin and underweight, or
"skinny-minny". Because of the cold quality, the vata person
will have cold hands, cold feet and poor circulation.
They hate the cold season and love summer. Because
of the mobile quality, vata people are very active.
They like jogging and jumping and don't like sitting in
one place. Vata is subtle, and this subtle quality is
responsible for the emotions of fear, anxiety,
insecurity and nervousness. Vata is clear, therefore
vata people can be clairvoyant; they have clear
understanding and perception. They understand things
immediately, but forget things immediately. Vata is
astringent, which is a drying and choking quality of
taste, therefore the vata person, while eating feels a
drying choking sensation in the throat. These qualities
are all expressed in a vata individual to some degree.

Vasant Lad is an Ayurvedic Physician and Executive Director of the Ayurvedic Institute. Dr. Lad brings a wealth of classroom and practical experience to the United States. A native of India, he served for three years as......more

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